July 2018

07/24/2018

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I Love Big Books

and I Can Not Lie

I love books. I love the feel of them. I love the smell of them. I love to write notes in their margins, and I love to underline and highlight phrases of special interest.

I love words. What color is to the eyes, words are to the ears.

It wasn't always so. I love to read what I want to read. I don't want assigned reading. To this day I resent the time spent in the 4th grade reading the assigned book Miss Hickory. And I don't care that it did win the Newbery Medal for Excellence in Children's Literature in 1947.

Well, maybe I would enjoy it now. But in 1974, I was miffed!

Many people have asked me to recommend my favorite books. Sometimes it's hard to think on the spot, so I started compiling a FAVORITE BOOKS LIST. And it will never be completed. I keep thinking of really good books to add, and I'm continually reading really good books.

Currently, I'm fascinated with one particular book titled The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. It's enjoying its 25th Anniversary this year, and I sewanee it's taken me about that long to read it. I still haven't finished it completely. It's chock full of inspirational, creativity-inspired quotes from unquestionable, creative geniuses.

"What we play is Life." ~ Louis Armstrong

It is also filled with exercises to enhance your creativity. I recommend reading the book for yourself, but two of the exercises in particular, I'd like to share with you. The first is Morning Pages, and the second is Artist Dates.

Morning Pages:

In the Morning Pages exercise you simply wake 30 minutes early each morning and use this time to write in longhand three pages of stream of consciousness. Do not reread the pages or allow anyone else to read them. I find it best to purchase an inexpensive spiral notebook and date the top of each first page.

You will be amazed at what bubbles up from the depths of your heart, soul, and mind.

It reminds me of an evening many years ago when I was taking a SCUBA diving class at the Brentwood YMCA. The instructor asked us to swim the length of the indoor pool under water. He suggested that if we need to come up for air to resist the urge to pop up initially and experience the additional air that is in our lungs, air that we never knew was there.

I tried it and was amazed. There it was, a bubble of extra air deep in the bottom of my lungs just waiting for the moment it was needed, called on for use. In Morning Pages, you'll find your stream of consciousness writing is a quite ordinary for the first two pages and then, all of a sudden, a pearl of wisdom bubbles up. This pearl was there all along, but you've never called upon it to present itself.

I look forward to morning pages each day to see what treasures will be gleaned. And these treasures I rewrite in my journal or my to-do list or my Ta-Da list, whichever is appropriate.

Artist Dates:

Simply put an Artist's Date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist. It is a key tool in nurturing your creativity. Julia Cameron describes it as "assigned play," an expedition to explore something that interests you. It doesn't even have to be overly artistic. Simply ask yourself, "What sparks whimsy and sounds like Fun?"

Suggested Artist Dates include:

Make a Vision Board.

Visit an Art Museum.

Take a Painting Class.

Spend an afternoon Photographing anything colorful.

Go on a History Tour of your own hometown.

Plant a flower garden.

Purchase a new Magazine you've never read before.

Attend an Indie film.

Cook a meal from a culture you aren't familiar with or go to an ethnic restaurant or café.

Try a Belly Dancing class.

Find a flower market in your area and treat yourself to a bouquet of "Lily of the Valley."

Watch a classic Hollywood film.

Learn a few phrases in a foreign language.

Daydream.

Doodle.

Write a haiku.

Write your Bucket List for the next season.

Learn to juggle.

Pick wild blackberries and make jam.

Take a hike.

Listen to the podcasts "The Minimalists" and declutter your wardrobe.

Bake a batch of scones.

Fly a Kite.

Carry a watercolor kit and sketch book to a local park or historic home and nature journal what you see.

Do a Cartwheel.

The ideas are endless!!

If you live in the middle Tennessee area, check out my Creative Spirits painting class. Not only do we paint for a couple of hours every week, but we also lunch together after class. In the past year we've added Art Dates to the calendar.

And that is just in the past 12 months or so. We have plans to tour historic Rattle and Snap in Mt. Pleasant, TN, and we may even rent a cabin near Gatlinburg to enjoy the beauty and fun of the Smokey Mountains.

No matter where you spend your Art Dates or with whom you spend them, Art Dates are important to nurturing your creative spirit. I hope you make it part of your weekly plans, and discover and nurture the artist you already are.

"Go Confidently in the Direction of your Dreams.

Live the Life you've Imagined!!"

~Henry David Thoreau

Susan

PS. Please forward this newsletter to a friend and share the fun!

CALENDAR

* Monthly Calendar: A few of these dates and locations were tentative at time of newsletter publication.

For more information on classes and workshops, call or text 615-668-8263.

Yes, the calendar is too small to read, so place your cursor on it and right-click. Now save it to your computer and enlarge it for better readability. Or click here.

Join us for Painting with Susan and attend painting classes offered in acrylics at our Winchester location in Spring Hill. Learn a new skill, have some fun, make new friends, and create a colorful legacy!

Beginners are welcomed. No need to have any painting experience. I want to help every student discover his or her inner artist and learn to enjoy the process of painting

Whether you choose a one-time class or the on-going weekly lessons, I'll guide you through the steps to create a painting you'll be proud of. Anyone can paint. All it takes is a knowledgeable teacher with a heart for students and a little practice. You'll get both in any of my classes.

Painting classes are offered in the lower level of the Winchester Building located at 563 Maury Hill Street behind Spring Hill Elementary in Evan's Park. Please call 615-668-8263 to register or for additional information.

1. CREATIVE SPIRITS CLASS inACRYLICS OR WATER-SOLUBLE OILS

Creative Spirits painting classes meet one day each week and cover a new topic every month.

Class meets at 10am on Thursday morning and meets 4 times each month. Class lasts about an hour and a half. Since August has 5 Thursdays, we will not meet on August 2. Our studio is not available that day due to the Primary Election voting.

In August we'll do a deep dive on Painting Trees.

In Creative Spirits class, students bring their own supplies (acrylics or water-soluble oils), and a list is provided of items you'll need. Class fee is $99 per one month session (4 classes) and you can take one-, two-, three- or as many months as you like. And plan to join us for lunch! Most weeks the morning groups either go out to a local restaurant or plan a pot luck meal at the studio.

You have FUN AND CREATIVE FRIENDS you haven't even met yet!!

PLEASE NOTE:

Starting in September, we will be entering a unit on "PAINTING WITH OILS." A Supplies list will be provided. However, if you don't want to invest in oils, I will provide basic oil colors for you. You'll still need to bring your own canvas, brushes, paper towels, 2 glass jars with tight-fitting lids, and paint thinner (either Gamsol or Odorless Turpenoid).

2. PAINT-ALONG "MAKE & TAKE" CLASSES

The Paint-along Classes are perfect for the novice and advanced student alike! It's a 2-2.5 hour class where we paint step by step through the painting process to create a beautiful painting you'll be proud to display or to share. There is no room for nerves or judgements, Painting with Susan Paint-along classes are safe zones for creatives to have fun, make new friends and to learn a new skill. Join us!

Please note: Students find it helpful to bring their phones or iPads to photograph the reference painting or pull it up on Facebook. Class size is limited so students have a better view of the reference painting and will get more individualized attention.

August 13 at 2:00pm "Daylily" $50, with all supplies included and 12 x 12 pre-sketched canvas

August20 at 6:00pm "Watermelon Slice" $50, with all supplies included and 16 x 12 stretched canvas

August27 at 6:00pm "Magnolia" $50, with all supplies included and 16 x 12 pre-sketched canvas

**Private Paint-Along Parties may be scheduled at your location with a minimum of 15 students. Great for Church Groups, Book Clubs, Reunions, Team Building for the office. All supplies and instruction are included for $50 per student. Please call 615-668-8263 for more information.

3. PRIVATE PAINTING LESSONS

Never painted before? Not sure which class is best for you? Want more individualized instruction? Scheduling a private lesson may be the choice for you.

Private lessons are taught in Spring Hill at the Winchester Studio. Students bring their own supplies and reference photo. You'll enjoy personal assessment of your work and specific instruction for improvement. Private Lesson fee is $99 for 2-hour lesson and may be shared with one other person as long as you both are painting the same reference material. OR $149 if two students are painting different paintings. For three or more students, fee is additional $50 each. Call 615-668-8263 to schedule your private painting lesson.

On most Thursday evenings from 3-7pm, you'll find me at the Farmers Market at Harvey Park in Spring Hill on the corner of Hwy 31 and Miles Johnson Pkwy. However on the 2nd Thursday evening of each month the Farmers Market is at Mockingbird restaurant at 3035 Reserve Blvd, Spring Hill. You'll find live music, food trucks, local produce and more! Hope to see you there!!

2. ART GIVEAWAYS ON INSTAGRAM

Be sure to Follow me in Instagram and enter to win one of the many Paintings and packages of Notecards I'm giving away there each week. All you have to do is follow me and tag three of your art loving friends in the post. Each post tagging three friends is another entry. Enter as many times as you like. You must have a shipping address in the continental US and your tags must link to your friends Instagram pages. It's that easy! And Good Luck!

3. FIRST FRIDAYS, COLUMBIA, TN

Come out to the Public Square in Columbia on the first Friday of each month and enjoy the art, music, homemade products for sale and dine at a local restaurant or from the food trucks. Weather permitting, we are there from 5-8pm. It's a wonderful, community event!

4. TOMATO ART FEST, EAST NASHVILLE, TN

Make your plans now to come out and see my new paintings at the 15th Annual Tomato Art Festival scheduled for August 10 and 11 in East Nashville around Historic Five Points. It's a free, family-friendly, tomato-themed festival with craft booths, food trucks, live music, and plenty of Art celebrating summer's favorite fruit, er...vegetable, er… fruit. Either way, the Tomato is a Uniter not a Divider.

My paintings, along with many of your other favorite middle Tennessee artists, will be on display at Art and Invention Gallery.

5. TEACHING AT THE TPRA 2018 CONFERENCE, KNOXVILLE, TN

I'm thrilled to be asked to teach a painting class at the Tennessee Parks and Recreation 2018 Conference in Knoxville, TN, on October 11. Many people only think of sports when they think of their city or county Parks Department, but public Parks Departments usually cover both Sports and Recreation. Hopefully, I can inspire these Parks Program Directors to add more Art classes to their list of programs.

6. CHESTNUT GROUP ART SHOW with the CUMBERLAND RIVER COMPACT

The Cumberland River Compact Show is slated for early November 2018. Paintings will be of landscapes, animals, and plants anywhere in the Cumberland River watershed, which is basically any where in middle Tennessee. Something for everyone!!

7. CHESTNUT GROUP ART SHOW at the PARTHONON, NASHVILLE, TN

This show is so exciting. It will be held in The Parthenon in Nashville, TN, at the end of May, 2019. Just one year away!!

8. CHESTNUT GROUP ART SHOW at RADNOR LAKE

The Chestnut Group partners with Radnor Lake every other year for good reason. It continues to be one of the biggest and most popular of the Chestnut Group shows. We will be painting there for the next year and the show will be in the autumn of 2019.

SHOPS AND GALLERIES While on your many adventures, please stop by the shops and galleries that sell my work and tell them I sent you....

Photos of precious smiles I got to see while painting in the July Classes, Workshops, and Private Lessons.

NEW PAINTINGSThese paintings and many, many more are for sale through Daily Paintworks. If you are local and purchase a painting, please let me know so I can adjust the shipping fee. To see the paintings for sale, click here.

CLASS/WORKSHOP CANCELLATION POLICY

Class sizes are limited, so we ask you give us 48 hours notice if you need to cancel. Cancellations should be made by phone or text, 615-668-8263. This provides us the opportunity to fill the space. No refunds are available, however class fees for reservations canceled at least 48 hours in advance may be credited to another class.

For inclement weather, announcements on canceled classes will be posted on Facebook. If in doubt, please call us before traveling in bad weather. Canceled classes will be rescheduled.

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